SHATTERED REALM: FORGOTTEN ECHOES-Chapter 169: Fire And Blood

The arena was repaired in a span of two hours, and when all was set, it was time for the next battle.

The announcer made his way to the center of the Arena.

"Next up, we have a match-up that interested me right from the beginning. This will be a truly bloody battle that will show pure skill and control, as well as destructive power."

He pointed to one entrance. "From the second most powerful Kingdom among us, we have a student who has shown her talent in the renowned Vermillion Academy. The crimson inferno herself...Iris."

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

"And from the shadowed Bloodhewn Sanctum, where we find cunning and cruel talents, the master of manipulative power, the one known for her chilling precision...Lavla!"

A faint, metallic odour seeped into the air as Lavla stepped forward.

Crimson lines streaked along her arms, fingers, neck, and legs, giving the illusion of bleeding.

Her eyes were as red as rubies without any lustre or glitter in them.

They remained cold and calculating.

After a moment, Iris made her way forward, her red and gold outfit flowing like pure fire.

Arrogance poured from every pore of her being, and as she looked around, anyone who made eye contact with her felt belittled.

The announcer stepped out of the danger zone before announcing the start of the battle.

At his mark, Lavla struck instantly.

She crossed her arms, pointing all fingers at Iris.

Blood shot forward like strings, condensing into ropes that grew thicker by the second.

With their tips solid and sharp, they wound their way toward Iris.

"Already? She’s starting with that technique?""Her control is terrifying..."

Iris commanded a flying sword of fire, effortlessly escaping the first volley

The blood chased her, slicing through the air with increasing speed.

The metallic stench of blood intensified, but Iris remained out of reach.

"Predictable," she said coolly. A few more swords lifted into the air around her, circling like fiery sentinels, ready to strike. "Try harder."

Lavla frowned, her jaw tightening, then sent tendrils of blood twisting toward Iris’s swords. Iris guided one forward, flames slicing the blood into hissing steam. A faint wisp of smoke curled into her nostrils, prompting her to cover her nose. She scowled.

"Ugh. That stench..." she muttered, clearly irritated that her perfect aura was tainted.

She desperately moved away and shot a steady stream of fire to get rid of the blood.

Lavla’s blood thinned, and she pulled back.

Iris shot a few swords at Lavla, detonating them as they struck the ground.

Lavla dodged with sharp, controlled movements, crimson energy snapping at her heels.

From the seats above came whispers.

"She’s fast...""But Iris isn’t even serious yet."

Her confidence only grew. She soared higher, riding her sword like it was naturally easy to do.

Her glowing flames looked like a better version of Lavla’s dull blood.

"Pathetic," she called down to Lavla. "You’re already struggling to keep up, aren’t you?"

Cockiness was just a thing most students in the Vermillion Kingdom had.

Lavla responded with a clipped remark."Focus, or you’ll regret underestimating me."

"I doubt it," Iris scoffed, but as she watched, Lavla’s blood rose from the floor, forming humanoid constructs and sharp tendrils that swirled toward Iris.

Each strike required Iris to maneuver with precision, slicing the blood into hissing clouds of steam with her vermillion swords. Yet with each encounter, droplets of blood splashed across her hair and face.

Iris froze for an instant, anger flaring. She clawed at the blood, dislodging it, then snapped angrily with disgust."Do not touch me! You think this is nice? You think this is acceptable?"

Her appearance mattered to her a lot wherever she went, and to taint her was taboo.

Her aura flared violently, and in a burst of frustration, she manifested vermillion wings, launching herself toward Lavla with blinding speed.

Crowd gasps followed at once.

"She’s manifesting the Vermillion Wings already?!""That’s an advanced technique!"

Blood droplets scattered, steam and flame mingling in the air.

Lavla staggered back, pale and strained from overexerting her blood powers, but most misinterpreted her pale complexion as fear.

The comments were already rising in her ears.

"She’s frightened.""She should be."

"Don’t be reckless!" Someone suddenly shouted desperately from the higher seats.

Iris whipped around mid-flight.

"Shut up! I know what I’m doing!" She waved her hand, and a wave of flames rolled in the voice’s direction, dispersing upon contact with the barrier.

"Stupid Isir," she muttered as she turned back to Lavla, regaining her composure.

"You’re too arrogant," Lavla muttered.

"And you’re weaker than me," Iris replied.

Iris’s wings beat furiously, slicing the air. One floating sword darted forward, slicing a blood construct in two, while the others formed a protective barrier around her.

The arena stank, and Iris pinched her nose again. "Disgusting," she hissed, her face twisted in both fury and disgust.

Lavla’s constructs lashed out in a coordinated volley, but Iris anticipated each strike, commanding her swords with lethal precision.

One strike she executed with a flick of her wrist sent a spinning vermillion blade into the largest blood construct, piercing it from the inside out.

She guided another to intercept a whiplash of crimson tendrils that were directed to sneak up on her.

And that was the biggest mistake Lavla could have made.

A few droplets of blood splashed across her cheek, and her eyes narrowed to slits.

She raised a hand to swipe it away and froze.

Her perfectly styled hair was tainted. Her face, her skin... ruined by the stench and the blood.

She wasn’t going to forgive a second time.

A low growl escaped her throat."You... how dare you touch me?" she hissed, her voice sharpening.

The calm, cocky Iris was gone. In her place was a whirlwind of fury.

Her wings unfurled fully, massive and burning with vermillion light, carrying her high into the arena air.

More floating swords erupted from the ground, dozens of them orbiting and slicing with lethal speed. She rode one sword herself, the rest darting outward like a storm of knives. Her wings remained still.

Lavla froze for a fraction too long, then surged forward, sending rivers of blood twisting into humanoid constructs and snapping tendrils.

But every strike that reached Iris was met with her flying swords, which swirled like a firestorm, vaporizing blood midair and leaving clouds of steam that stung the eyes and nose.

"I said... don’t touch me!" Iris shouted, spinning midair, wings slicing arcs of fire across the arena. A dozen swords shot forward, each guided to impale or decapitate any construct that dared near her. Every movement was precise yet furious, elegant yet chaotic.